Scottish equivalent of "Smith"

[The Wizard of BC]

I've been hoping some of our more academic members would chime in on this topic.
Now please understand I'm not a scholar of Scottish History I just make Kilts. But because I get just this sort of question almost every week I've had to read a lot.
I am going to over simplify my explanation and try to make it understandable. I'm not going to use all the proper terms and I'm not going to quote dates. I'll leave that to those who have studied this subject a lot more than I have.

Timseh, I think you are operating under a bit of misinformation or belief here. Yes, the clans were named for the chief. Yes, members of the chief's family would be members of his clan.

But the clan system was not based solely on family and names. It was feudalism. A Lord owned land. Under the lord were some knights who formed the lords standing army. Then there were merchants and tradespeople who worked for the lord and provided goods and services. Then there were serfs who worked the land providing the food and livestock. All these people were in and came under the lord's clan. Most of them were not from, or part of, his family but they were members of the clan. If the clan and the clan lands were threatened all would come to the defense.

The McDonalds for example had clan members who were named and did the job of Millers and Smiths and Fletchers. So did every other clan as did the cities and the lowlands and borders. Just because you last name now is Miller does not mean you must find the Miller Tartan or know which Clan the Millers belonged to.

So it's not about names. It's not just about family. It's about where you lived, who you sworn allegiance to, who you agreed to help, work for, or serve.

The Highland Clan system that everyone romances about was effectively dead a couple of hundred years before the Kilt as we know it, and named Tartans, were invented. So it's a moot point really.

In the days when the Clan system was active Named Tartans did not exist. If you wanted to show membership in a Clan you wore the Plant Badge of the Clan.

If your genealogical research can trace your family back to a specific region of the Scottish Highlands then perhaps you can feel some connection to the Clan from that region. But to think that that Clan must be found and that only that Clan is the right one I'm afraid is just not correct.

I hope some others will join in this and use the proper terms. But to me the whole belief that there is one and only one Clan that I can say is "mine" just does not fit with the facts.
I find that this whole idea of "My Clan" is somewhat akin to the "My Family Coat of Arms" sort of thinking. Both are the product of a lot of misinformation.